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December 2012

This is a fairly long post with lots of photos (probably could havc been 2 separate posts).........I hope you'll stay with it until the end.

Our dear friends L and J (who hosted us that wonderful weekend in September) were house sitting for J's parents down here and so we were invited for Sunday lunch yesterday along with our other good friends M and G.

J's parents live in an amazing home that was built in 1917 and to say it was grand would be an understatement. It's the kind of home you drive by and wonder "I wonder what it's like inside". The 2-story house sits on roughly an acre and boasts a large back garden filled with little statuary and enchanting elements throughout. The house has amazing mill work throughout, high ceilings, beautiful wood floors, built-ins and so many antique treasures I was like a kid in a candy store. Out back there is also a place where his Mom grows orchids and succulents (humidity controlled) as well as another separate sunroom (which would make a perfect studio).

looking up from a garden path

BohoHandyman wants to build an arbor like this.

At the front gateThere are amazing old trees around the property, looking up the sun is dappled through the branches. I LOVE looking up at the sky through tree branches!

It was a sunny day yesterday but the air was chilly and the ground a bit soaked from all the rains we've had. I can only imagine all the garden spaces fully in bloom come Springtime.

Inside......

Below is a small sunroom that is off the main living room .....it would be a perfect place to sit and read a book, daydream, draw or sew. Don't you think? Such wonderful light coming through the windows.

I would have taken lots of photos of ALL the rooms but somehow I felt it was an invasion of their privacy. I preferred to revel in each space, each detail, each piece instead.

Look at this old ceiling light in the foyer........

So many various and gorgeous wall sconces. The lighting in this house, both on the ceiling and around the rooms were making me insane with lamp envy!

I mean look at this chandelier in the dining room.....

and speaking of dining room.....

L and J (our hosts above) had the dining room all set up for our delicious lunch

As their guests you are always treated with love infused in whatever they serve

In this case it was THE most delicious ChickenPotPie Soup and Spinach quiche

Comfort food personified!

They also served twisted pie crust you crumble on top of the soup. A plate of pears and apples drizzled in honey and a fruit sauce and bacon jam.....yes you read that right and it's amazing.

Our friends G and M.........M brought delicious homemade cannoli and a homemade pizza to share as well. Both super delish!!!

Look at those cannoli.......yummmmmy! It was truly a most enjoyable and gastronomically perfect lunch! M is full Italian (to my half Italian) so she gifted each couple with a box of homemade Italian cookies (some I remember my Mom making) to take home as well as a pizza.....AND L and J gifted us with a plate of homemade delights to take home along with some of their homemade pickles and jams they are famous for! I gave them each some cupcakes and a loaf of my pumpkin bread. It was a true yummy food exchange!!

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Now the gift we made for L and J...........

Prior to taking the home/garden tour and sitting down to lunch we brought in the gift .......a sort of combo of L and J's birthdays, Christmas and thank you for their hospitality yesterday and the weekend we spent with them..... all rolled in to one. They, too, have a large garden area at their home and they love to fill it with old treasures, unexpected bits and bobs, unusual finds etc. I knew I wanted us to make them a piece of garden art.....so I got my thinking cap on.

It started with a seed of an idea and team work.......

I made a pattern

that BohoHandyman cut in to these

We modified them a tiny bit afterwards. And from there it took off....

I found 2 metal rods we had with a curve on the ends.....BohoHandyman cut the metal pieces and drilled holes in the wings to connect them while still keeping them apart. He was literally my "wing" man throughout this entire project. I had some birch branches from some store years ago so I asked him to cut me a ton of little slices from one of the poles. I then made a heart pattern he cut out from the remaing wood. With dremel tool in hand I carved on the face of one side of each wing to create feather detail (it's my first time doing it so don't judge), then I glued the birch slices above that for more detail and texture. I then tried a few different ways to paint the wings finally settling on one that resembled rust in a way. I used texture paint on one side of the heart and painted it a mixture of colors. I then glued and nailed the heart to the wings. Once it was finished I had an idea....L and J had given us a rusty metal barrel ring....it was the perfect way to hang the winged heart in their garden. BohoHandyman then began drilling holes and screwing in L-brackets from behind then drilled and added a heavy duty eye bolt at the top of the ring for hanging. The final detail was me taking a bell from something else and him drilling a hole at the end of the heart so I could attach it with some copper wire. It had all finally come together and we stood back feeling pretty proud of ourselves (if I do say so myself we make a damn fine team).

Here is the final result:

.

Below is the back side

Giving them the gift: (you get the idea of its size too)

They said they loved it and know just where it will go at their home.....It was a truly wonderful afternoon. I am so grateful for such dear friendships!

(you can see some of the main foyer details too)

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BohoHandyman and I have a plan to perfect and create future pieces of garden art and other items together that we will sell......that is one of our intentions for 2013! As I don't believe in making New Year's Resolutions I feel the word intention works better for me in terms of the new year. 2012 was a pretty rough year so for sure my intention is to make this new one so much better.

Intend: to have in mind as a purpose or goal

I intend to be more mindful of the have rather than the have not.I intend to be more present and in the moment. I intend to find my joy even in the smallest things. I intend to work with my beloved in creating a side business we can do together. I intend to get out more. I intend to be the best me I can be. I intend to keep even better connections with dear friends. I intend to do more art.

I won't go on (because there are more)..........you get the idea and by now this post seems it will never end.

So I say to all of you HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

What are your intentions for 2013?

I needed to add.......THANK YOU to those who stopped by my blog this past year (sometimes silently and sometimes taking time to comment) as I struggled with the depression issue. It's not always easy to be so honest and you can only hope people will keep coming back. Thank you for the support via both comments and emails. I am grateful for this blogging community that is truly filled with heart, inspiration and kindness!